Four Champagnat Catholic College Pagewood staff have received 2022 Teacher’s Guild of NSW Awards in recognition of their outstanding work in Mathematics, English and Human Society and its Environment (HSIE).

From digital publishing opportunities for students to giving Mathematics modules made for the COVID lockdowns a second life after face-to-face learning had resumed, we take a closer look at the stellar work of Champagnat’s teachers.

THE PROJECTS

Mathematics: Online progress

Emma Pracey and Charlotte Buxton’s Teachers’ Guild Award recognises their innovative approach to teaching Mathematics via online learning. Photo: Natalie Roberts

Charlotte Buxton and Emma Pracey, the winners of the Regional / Remote Teaching and Learning Excellence Award, developed a series of online Mathematics learning modules for years 7 to 10 students during the first COVID-19 lockdown in 2020.

The user-friendly lessons developed by the Mathematics teachers include three levels of question – basic, challenge and enrichment – to provide opportunities for students to extend themselves.

They also contain ‘success criteria’ and learning intentions to keep students on task, in addition to theory, worked examples, videos, and interactive games.

Ms Buxton and Ms Pracey later adapted the lessons to enable a blended learning approach to the subject.

“Receiving the [Teacher’s Guild of NSW] Award was surprising but very gratifying,” Ms Buxton said.

Teachers can now give explicit instruction on a topic, then have students work through the module independently – giving the flexibility for lessons to continue seamlessly when COVID strikes, for example.

The blended learning approach also supports the college’s commitment to formative assessment, a practice where teachers monitor learning and give ongoing feedback to help students build on their strengths and address areas that need work.